MAC301 essay question 3

For any of the students interested in tackling the third essay question (the one with the McLuhan quote about the media being put out before it is thought out), I just want to recommend the Guardian Tech Weekly podcast. This week the team look at the problems facing new media start-ups in light of the economic downturn and they have an interview with the man behind micro-blogging service Twitter, Biz Stone. This comes on the back of the failed potentail acquistion of Twitter by Facebook.

Get the podcast from here

The Guardian are not the only media platform discussing the role of Twitter this week. Over on the BBC's Digital Planet, they were looking at the role Twitter played in keeping people informed during the recent Mumbai terror attacks. You can catch that show here, or at least until the iPlayer 7 day rule kicks in. Radio 4's The Media Show also has a feature on it - get it here (same rules apply, I think)

The use of social media tools during the Mumbai incident has caused a stir. The Guardian's PDA blog talks about the use of unsubstantiated claims from the general public here. The Independent's Tom Sutcliffe has been very critical in his opinion piece here.